TOUGH national anti-paedophile laws to be unveiled today will force judges to impose minimum mandatory jail sentences and make it more difficult for child sex offenders to be granted bail and parole.

In the most significant overhaul of Federal child sex offences in almost 25 years, the laws are aimed at child sex offenders who commit offences online and overseas that fall outside State jurisdictions.

Internet companies and service administrators are also in the Government’s sights, with penalties increased for technology providers who “facilitate” child abuse material or who fail to report offences to police.

The crackdown comes as the Federal Government releases figures showing that almost half of all child sex offenders convicted under Commonwealth law face no jail time, and the most common sentence for the 58.7 per cent who do, is just six months.

Under the new laws, child sex offenders will face increased penalties, including mandatory minimum sentences for the “worst and repeat” offenders and aggravated offences, with a “presumption of imprisonment” included in the Bill, rather than allowing for suspended sentences.

The minimum penalty would be 25 per cent of the maximum penalty applying to the specific offence.

For example, the Federal offence of grooming a child online for sexual activity has a maximum penalty of 15 years, meaning a judge would have to impose a minimum jail term of almost four years.

Judges will also be forbidden from using an offender’s standing in the community to apply a discounted sentence if this helped them commit the crime, and will be required to presume in favour of cumulative sentencing for multiple offences.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan, who will seek partyroom support for the legislation today before introducing a Bill to Parliament this week, said Federal laws were needed to prevent child sex offenders slipping through the cracks of State laws.

“These reforms are the strongest crackdown on paedophiles in a generation,” Mr Keenan said.

“Harming kids is the worst form of crime but this is not being reflected in the punishments these criminals have been given for their horrible actions.

“We want to strengthen all aspects of sentencing paedophiles that reflects our disgust at those that prey on children.” The Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill will also make it compulsory for courts to consider rehabilitation for offenders, including setting “appropriate treatment and supervision conditions”.

Changes will be introduced to minimise the impact of the court process on vulnerable witnesses such as children, which Mr Keenan said could be “traumatic and confronting”, particularly through cross examination.

If the laws had applied to one of WA’s most notorious paedophiles, Mark Pendleton, he would have been subjected to mandatory minimum sentencing for each of the Commonwealth offences he had committed.

This means that instead of the minimum four years he was sentenced to spend in custody on top of earlier sentences, the court would have begun with a “head sentence” of 10 years jail for the Commonwealth offences, and then worked backwards to determine the most appropriate prison term.